Dear BMR/TDEE Gods...please help me.

kshadows
kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've tried figuring this a million ways. I thought I had it good because I lost ~8 pounds but I'm guessing that was "beginners weight".

I'm female. 24 years old. 164 pounds. (Goal weight 130). BF-32% Height - 5'5.5"

From this, my BMR is ~1470.
I used several outside calculators to calculate my TDEE, which is roughly 2,152.
This TDEE was calculated as lightly active (ie: no planned exercise).

My exercise is sometimes sporadic so I didn't want to use one of the higher levels because then if I didn't exercise that week, my intake would be overstated. Now, I use a HRM when exercising (running, skating, etc) and enter those calories burned into MFP, with the intention of eating them back (since they're NOT included in the TDEE calculation).

Do I take 10-20% of 2,152 and use that as my intake??

I've been eating 1500-1600 calories per day and after those 8 pounds fell off, now I've been stuck for 2 weeks at the same weight. I do weigh and measure everything (might not appear that way in my diary but everything is definitely weighed). Do I need to be patient and stick with 1500-1600 or up to 1700-1900 (to represent 80-90% of my TDEE)??

I thought I had a good thing going here :( I thoroughly appreciate all your help!! ((And yes, I have read all the threads pertaining to this, and I'm still asking))

Replies

  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
    Please? :(
  • melissamarah
    melissamarah Posts: 168 Member
    I'm not really sure I can help you out on your calculations (I'm just now starting to look into the whole TDEE thing). But two weeks at the same weight isn't necessarily a problem with your plan. It might be a mini plateau.

    According to your ticker, you've lost 20 lbs. That's fantastic!:drinker: Keep up the great work!
  • jakeyuma
    jakeyuma Posts: 335 Member
    your at a normal platuo (I can't spell). Keep doing what your doing. Do you take measurements? Keep track of those. After 3 weeks if no change try lowering your calories by 200 for 2 weeks and see what happens. If you still loose nothing try increasing your calories by 200 and see what happens. The only other advice is that it may be time to up your intensity slightly in your workout.
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
    your at a normal platuo (I can't spell). Keep doing what your doing. Do you take measurements? Keep track of those. After 3 weeks if no change try lowering your calories by 200 for 2 weeks and see what happens. If you still loose nothing try increasing your calories by 200 and see what happens. The only other advice is that it may be time to up your intensity slightly in your workout.

    I do measure and I haven't lost a single inch, which is what's making me nervous.

    I could up my intensity but if my TDEE is calculated as not working out at all and I'm eating a cut of that, I should still be losing regardless of whether I work out at all or not :-/
  • mschicagocubs
    mschicagocubs Posts: 774 Member
    I've tried figuring this a million ways. I thought I had it good because I lost ~8 pounds but I'm guessing that was "beginners weight".

    I'm female. 24 years old. 164 pounds. (Goal weight 130). BF-32% Height - 5'5.5"

    From this, my BMR is ~1470.
    I used several outside calculators to calculate my TDEE, which is roughly 2,152.
    This TDEE was calculated as lightly active (ie: no planned exercise).

    My exercise is sometimes sporadic so I didn't want to use one of the higher levels because then if I didn't exercise that week, my intake would be overstated. Now, I use a HRM when exercising (running, skating, etc) and enter those calories burned into MFP, with the intention of eating them back (since they're NOT included in the TDEE calculation).

    Do I take 10-20% of 2,152 and use that as my intake??

    I've been eating 1500-1600 calories per day and after those 8 pounds fell off, now I've been stuck for 2 weeks at the same weight. I do weigh and measure everything (might not appear that way in my diary but everything is definitely weighed). Do I need to be patient and stick with 1500-1600 or up to 1700-1900 (to represent 80-90% of my TDEE)??

    I thought I had a good thing going here :( I thoroughly appreciate all your help!! ((And yes, I have read all the threads pertaining to this, and I'm still asking))

    I'd go 15% so you should consume 1,830 cals/day. You do not eat back your exercise as this is already calculated for you.
  • jakeyuma
    jakeyuma Posts: 335 Member
    Just remember all TDEE, BMR calculations are estimates and we are all different and may need to adjust that number accordingly.
  • suziepoo1984
    suziepoo1984 Posts: 915 Member
    If your activity is not uniform, you could just calculate TDEE-15% sedentary and eat back all workout calories
  • cpusmc
    cpusmc Posts: 122
    if you lost 8 at the 1500-1600 level and have now stopped, try jumping up to the 1900 for a couple of weeks and then maybe drop to your bmr level for a week and see if you cant get the body to re-engage its fat burning engine. i have not looked at your macros but with limited to no exercise it also might be worth a shot that week where you go to bmr level to drop your carbs below protein and fat levels to again try and force the body to burn fat for energy rather than its default of carbs.

    we are all different so the key is to make small track-able changes and see what works and what does not and build your own database of knowledge that is based on your own results. after a period of time you should start to get a feel for what works and be able to adjust as necessary to achieve the results you are seeking. good luck...
  • _errata_
    _errata_ Posts: 1,653 Member
    According to the Mayo clinic calculator, your daily energy needs per day are 1850 with no physical activity. A 20% deficit is about 1450 calories. A 15% deficit is about 1572. If I were you I would set my goal at one of those targets and then eat back whatever calories you burn from exercising.

    This is effectively what I am doing with my fitbit, and I have been pretty successful. I keep my calorie target on MFP set to sedentary and then eat back whatever calories I get from my fitbit adjustment.

    Here is the mayo clinic calculator I used to get your numbers:

    http://www.mayoclinic.org/calorie-calculator/itt-20084939
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
    According to the Mayo clinic calculator, your daily energy needs per day are 1850 with no physical activity. A 20% deficit is about 1450 calories. A 15% deficit is about 1572. If I were you I would set my goal at one of those targets and then eat back whatever calories you burn from exercising.

    This is effectively what I am doing with my fitbit, and I have been pretty successful. I keep my calorie target on MFP set to sedentary and then eat back whatever calories I get from my fitbit adjustment.

    Here is the mayo clinic calculator I used to get your numbers:

    http://www.mayoclinic.org/calorie-calculator/itt-20084939

    I appreciate you taking the time out to do that for me. And your profile picture is awesome, i'm in love with Clint Eastwood.

    I did the calculator myself and used lightly active instead of sedentary because even on days I DON'T workout, I still walk about 30 minutes (I walk to and from work) and I have 2 kids that I constantly chase around, I cook, clean, do laundry, etc. so I'm far from sedentary. That gave me a TDEE of 2050, so 20% off that would be 1,640, which is about what I'm currently aiming for.

    Thank you for your insight!
  • _errata_
    _errata_ Posts: 1,653 Member
    According to the Mayo clinic calculator, your daily energy needs per day are 1850 with no physical activity. A 20% deficit is about 1450 calories. A 15% deficit is about 1572. If I were you I would set my goal at one of those targets and then eat back whatever calories you burn from exercising.

    This is effectively what I am doing with my fitbit, and I have been pretty successful. I keep my calorie target on MFP set to sedentary and then eat back whatever calories I get from my fitbit adjustment.

    Here is the mayo clinic calculator I used to get your numbers:

    http://www.mayoclinic.org/calorie-calculator/itt-20084939

    I appreciate you taking the time out to do that for me. And your profile picture is awesome, i'm in love with Clint Eastwood.

    I did the calculator myself and used lightly active instead of sedentary because even on days I DON'T workout, I still walk about 30 minutes (I walk to and from work) and I have 2 kids that I constantly chase around, I cook, clean, do laundry, etc. so I'm far from sedentary. That gave me a TDEE of 2050, so 20% off that would be 1,640, which is about what I'm currently aiming for.

    Thank you for your insight!

    Great! I'm glad I could help you out.

    And yes, Clint Eastwood is a badass. He is my favorite actor/director of all time. :)
  • aarondnguyen
    aarondnguyen Posts: 270 Member
    Honestly there's no real way to tell exactly how many calories you should be consuming to achieve your goals -- there are too many factors at play like hormones, protein synthesis, your activity level... the list goes on.

    What I'd suggest is experimentation. Stay at a certain amount of calories for 2 weeks or so. Weigh yourself every morning and take weekly averages, then tailor your calories accordingly. If you've been fidgeting like I used to in the past, and changing your calories every week... it's very likely that you won't see any physical changes.

    Change takes time.
  • krennie8
    krennie8 Posts: 301 Member
    How often do you weigh yourself? I agree with the poster above me, weigh everyday for two weeks and take averages. I do this and I definitely notice my weight going down. However if I weighed in once a week on Friday (for example), I would have thought I was stuck at 163.4 for two weeks. But, it was just b/c it happened to be my lowest day one week, and my highest the next. Water weight can do that to you.
  • lemon629
    lemon629 Posts: 501 Member
    How often do you weigh yourself? I agree with the poster above me, weigh everyday for two weeks and take averages. I do this and I definitely notice my weight going down. However if I weighed in once a week on Friday (for example), I would have thought I was stuck at 163.4 for two weeks. But, it was just b/c it happened to be my lowest day one week, and my highest the next. Water weight can do that to you.

    I agree with this. Weigh yourself daily.

Categories